In short The BABOK® Guide describes 50 techniques that analysts use across all six knowledge areas. This page groups them by the job they help you do, gives a one-line “use it when” for each, and links to a practical page for every technique.
Based on: IIBA, BABOK® Guide v3, chapter 10 “Techniques” and Appendix B (mapping of techniques to tasks); Watermark Learning, BABOK v3 Study Tables; B. Andersen, Business Process Improvement Toolbox (for Root Cause Analysis and Benchmarking).
Chapter 10 of the BABOK Guide lists the techniques alphabetically and numbers them 10.1 to 10.50. Each one is described in the same structure: purpose, description, elements, and usage considerations (strengths and limitations). An appendix maps which techniques support which of the 30 tasks in the knowledge areas. Most techniques serve several tasks; none belongs to only one knowledge area.
The alphabetical order is convenient for lookup but not for choosing. The groups below are by purpose. A few techniques could sit in more than one group; each appears once, where it is most often used.
What do you need right now? Information you do not have, a shared picture of something complex, a decision, an order of work, or evidence of results. That points you to a group below.
Who and what is available? Busy executives suit short interviews; many dispersed users suit surveys; hands-on staff suit observation; good documentation suits document analysis.
How formal must the result be? A predictive, contract-driven initiative needs specifications and signed-off models; an adaptive one often needs only stories, sketches and conversation.
Who will read the output? Choose the notation your audience already understands. A model that only analysts can read does not create shared understanding.
What would confirm it? Plan a second technique to cross-check important findings, for example interviews plus observation, or a process model plus a review.
Two habits help. Combine techniques rather than relying on one favorite. And start light: a quick sketch, list or conversation often shows whether a heavier technique is worth the effort.
IIBA. A Guide to the Business Analysis Body of Knowledge (BABOK® Guide), version 3. International Institute of Business Analysis, 2015. Chapter 10 “Techniques” (10.1–10.50); Appendix B (mapping of techniques to tasks).
Watermark Learning. BABOK v3 Study Tables. 2016. (study aid for the BABOK Guide): summaries of all 50 techniques with strengths, limitations and usage.
B. Andersen. Business Process Improvement Toolbox. ASQ Quality Press, 1999: chapter 8 (root cause analysis) and section 10.7 (benchmarking), used for those two technique pages.